New York theater audiences will have a new two-hander to watch this fall as five-time Golden Globe Award nominee Marilu Henner and Stranger Things star Shannon Purser take the stage together in The Ask, a new play by Matthew Freeman.
Directed by Jessi D. Hill, the production will begin previews Oct. 6, with opening night scheduled for Oct. 13. The strictly limited engagement will run through Nov. 22 at Theater 555, 555 W. 42nd St. in New York City.
The play centers on an encounter that begins as a fundraising meeting but quickly develops into an intense examination of political ideals, generational differences and personal convictions. Set in an Upper West Side apartment, The Ask follows Greta, played by Henner, a longtime donor with progressive views, and Tanner, played by Purser, a young ACLU fundraiser seeking a significant contribution.
What initially appears to be a straightforward donor meeting becomes a battle of wills as the women challenge each other’s assumptions. Their shared political values provide common ground, but the conversation ultimately exposes deeper differences in how they understand activism, philanthropy, generational identity and social change.
For Purser, the production marks an important career milestone as her New York stage debut. Best known for playing Barb Holland on Netflix’s Stranger Things, Purser brings her screen experience to an intimate theatrical setting opposite Henner, whose career spans television, film and stage.
Freeman draws on more than a decade of experience as an ACLU fundraiser in crafting the play. That background informs the work’s exploration of the complicated relationship between nonprofit organizations and their donors, while also providing the foundation for its examination of disagreements within movements that share broad goals.
The Ask previously received a critically acclaimed production at The Wild Project in New York, also directed by Hill. The production earned strong notices for its examination of generational and philosophical divisions on the political left.
The creative team for the new production includes set designer Craig Napoliello, costume designer Nicole Wee, lighting designer Venus Gulbranson and sound designer Ben Scheff. Geoff Josselson Casting is handling casting.
The production is being produced by Adam Cohen, with general management by Jessica R. Jenen for JRJ Productions LLC and Staci Levine for Groundswell Theatricals Inc. Jenen also serves as executive producer.
With its compact cast and timely subject matter, The Ask puts two characters at the center of a conversation about money, activism, age and competing ideas about how change should happen. The result is a play built around the tension that can emerge when people who believe they are working toward similar goals discover that they do not always agree on how to get there.
Tickets for The Ask are now on sale, with performances beginning Oct. 6 and continuing through Nov. 22.